Mulvane boys win third straight

WAMEGO — Mulvane's tent was only a quarter-mile from the finish line, but it took Nikki Trooien-Smith much longer to reach his destination than the 16 minutes, 40 seconds it took him to cover the 5-kilometer course on Saturday morning.

An entourage immediately engulfed him after it was apparent Mulvane had secured its third consecutive Class 4A state championship on Saturday morning.

Everyone wanted a piece of anyone wearing green. When one person was done congratulating Trooien-Smith, another was waiting. College coaches stuffed informational packets into his hands, hoping to attract interest.

When he finally arrived at the tent, Trooien-Smith finally had a moment to himself.

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"It took me awhile, but I definitely started crying," Trooien-Smith said. "It means that much to me. It's just really, really special."

Of the three championships, this one may have been the most impressive. Mulvane won the title with its lowest point total — 30.

Evan Landes was barely edged at the finish line for second place in 16:19, followed by Nick Lockwood (16:39) and Trooien-Smith in the top five. Wyatt James was eighth at 17:08 and Josh Hansen was 16th at 17:22.

"It's just a special bond we have together," Hansen said. "Not a lot of teams can get together and go run over the summer and then continue to do it. We just all want to be together and we want to win this championship."

Everything about the Mulvane dynasty goes back to the team. They stand out among the other teams because they, literally, do everything together.

Same long, shaggy hair. Same sunglasses and towels wrapped neatly in their shorts after races.

"Nicky got sunglasses in middle school and then we all got them," Landes said. "Then we all just kind of grew our hair out. We're all really similar. It's really amazing. These are all my best friends."

"They're crazy," said Wamego's Riley Woodward, who won the individual boys race.

Other area highlights:

Class 4A — Valley Center freshman Morgan Wedekind completed her rise to the top with an individual championship in 15 minutes flat.

Wedekind continued her string of impressive defeats, this time beating Pratt's Cheyenne Becker and El Dorado's Molly Milbourn.

"It kind of feels like a normal race," Wedekind said. "It doesn't seem different. I didn't think of it being state, I just thought of it being another meet I guess."

For Milbourn, the third-place finish was a disappointment. After Wedekind passed her on the last hill, it tested her mentally to hold strong. She finished in15:31.

Class 3A — The Independent boys team only had one in the top 10 (Jordan Speed), but used its depth to capture third place. In the girls race, Remington's Morgan Trible edged Douglass' Sarah Wright for third place. The Belle Plaine girls finished second as a team, aided by top-10 finishes by Megan Doyle and Ivy Wellman.

Class 2A — Running against tough competition all season paid off for the Berean Academy boys team. With three in the top 15 (Arlan Newby, Daniel Claassen and Josiah Busenitz) and all five in the top 30 (Justin Claassen and Steven Busenitz), the team was able to capture the team championship.